Elhvir can already envision what the fighting golem will be like in action. Boring reality intrudes though. There's still work to be done on it, as it has barely been a week since it was started and there's still the materials issue. The dragons are curious about it and might be willing to supply some, though their own resources are fairly scarce metal-wise too.

With some difficulty in communicating there is nevertheless an exchange of ideas for the squirrel suits. Keishi turns out to be a quite patient model as well.

Panel 3 is a mix of Mirtis and Mae'torani's options, partially because I misread it as '...analyzing the stones/gems with the dragons.'There is a specific reason the dvergar weren't included though. I debated putting in a panel showing why but ended up scrapping it. In retrospect I should have included it after all.

Kay has her cuts and scrapes seen to by Ombr'eh, while Vesxilé gives her a test to see what she has learned. She gets a B.

If the modifications to the parachute traces are ready I suppose next week should be a retest. I'm also thinking about what improvements the hang glider might need before we start on a second one. In general I'm not going to fight the GMs as to what their visions of how the game elements will be like, just suggest.

Whizzard wrote:Well, this is the best time for some celebrations, don't cha think? Our expedition turned out to be a massive success! Shall I make the arrangements?

We located a massive find... that we had to leave in place for (from the characters' perspective) an indeterminate amount of time, and for all we know, it has a good chance of not being there when we get back. Or still there, but with "Property of Clan Nal'Sarkoth (or Nidra'chaal)" stamped on it in a way that we can't contest. Personally, I'd rather celebrate the bird once we have it in our possession, rather than once we've seen it.

Ash-RH: Eyes peeled and heads on a swivel, Shrikes.

MA: Have I mentioned that I hate fire?

Kale'shido- I would've gone to the Sarghress, like the other exiles, but I fear for my family's safety as much as my friends'.

"Lowering the center of gravity on the glider should improve its stability.The lifter cores should enable the glider to rise far enough off the ground to catch a breeze and glide higher.We should see if adding trim tabs to the wings can improve their lift capability."

Timotheus wrote:We should see if adding trim tabs to the wings can improve their lift capability."

I think we should use this opportunity to break away from human aviation engineering and push a little toward its more fantastic side. That is to say, we have the capacity to learn about flight from creatures who do it by literally imitating birds. I think you should try to produce a glider wing set that can be mechanically articulated to somewhat imitate the motion of natural wings, and with foci so it can be assisted by Wind arts. Maybe capture a handful of live birds to use as reference.

Granted, this will be a fair bit more complex on the engineering end than what you're currently working with, but this is flight we're talking about. And we're in a mana poor environment, so the less strain that is put on the operators, the better. The more we can imitate the works or biology of creatures who've been doing it a lot longer than you've been trying to (in-universe), the better you can fit your engineering to the world and improve the possibility of more efficient flight. Besides, as the dragons have demonstrated, mechanical feathered wings are just awesome.

Ash-RH: Eyes peeled and heads on a swivel, Shrikes.

MA: Have I mentioned that I hate fire?

Kale'shido- I would've gone to the Sarghress, like the other exiles, but I fear for my family's safety as much as my friends'.

What do you think the frilled ridges on bird feathers do, they're natural small scale wing tabs. They add lift while reducing the amount of wing surface needed. That said, I'll be more than happy to turn over any and all aerodynamic design work to anyone who wants to pursue it by any means they want so long as it GETS DONE. I've vowed to give this clan gliders and parachutes before Winslow and I fade into history and I'm going to do it come ceak or high hem lines.

Timotheus wrote:What do you think the frilled ridges on bird feathers do, they're natural small scale wing tabs. They add lift while reducing the amount of wing surface needed.

That was kind of my point.

Timotheus wrote: ps the dragons wings are awesome, but we only have two arms.

True. But the gliders aren't worn on the back. They're ridden from a mounted position like a motorcycle. The dynamics of user interface are different. I'm willing to believe that with the right combination of small rods and gears or bearings, the wings can be 'flapped' by the operator twisting their hands, and can be spread or retracted by doing the same with the fingers. Think of the control system as operating in a similar fashion to an oversized marionette.

Ash-RH: Eyes peeled and heads on a swivel, Shrikes.

MA: Have I mentioned that I hate fire?

Kale'shido- I would've gone to the Sarghress, like the other exiles, but I fear for my family's safety as much as my friends'.

Unfortunately, Reza has already decided to send us on a Anime design track with the glider (for ease of drawing no doubt) so I'm going with what I've been given and suggesting improvements that don't make big changes to the over all appearance. (You may have noticed I've tried to copy his design in my latest drawing as opposed to my earlier ones) They're more likely to be approved and functional. Also, the less mechanical elements we incorporate, the less there is to fail and the less dependent on mana the glider is.

We can try to build a flying wing back pack that will actually fly like the dragons, but it will be mana intensive.

The hang glider is supposed to be nearly mana free except for taking off from the ground and an occasional emergency maneuver.(For what it's worth I also have a idea for jet like wind focus engine and a VTOL craft that's half drawn but I stopped when I realized Kern wouldn't go for it)

Ah. Good point then. That does explain why the wings weren't shown much beyond the dragons' introduction. To clarify though, I wasn't referring to what would be referred to in our world as electromechanical, but rather... raw or pure mechanical, I guess? The variant where the only moving parts are moved either by the operator or other parts. But I admit I failed to take into account how your ballistae and existing glider designs turned out. Still, I'm opposed to the idea of ordinary trim tabs because not only are they small and likely to be rarely shown, but it doesn't feel like they'd mesh well with the overall pseudo-technological scheme we're running with here. How about making the wings out of mildly flexible materials? Like burlap with spring steel (I'm kind of on a fix with this material atm, sorry) spars or something. Granted the materials themselves wouldn't be shown, but controlling the flight by flexing the wings should be. The ah... exact manner of controlling this flexing eludes me at the moment, however. Still, I hope you take the proposal as seeds for thought.

Ash-RH: Eyes peeled and heads on a swivel, Shrikes.

MA: Have I mentioned that I hate fire?

Kale'shido- I would've gone to the Sarghress, like the other exiles, but I fear for my family's safety as much as my friends'.

To be honest I have no idea what we made the glider out of, or what the ship is made out of, or even what the golems are being made out of at the moment since we don't have a large forge or metal casting facility. I just keep telling myself "magic fired ceramics over wood or cloth bases" and force myself not to worry.

Timotheus wrote:To be honest I have no idea what we made the glider out of, or what the ship is made out of, or even what the golems are being made out of at the moment since we don't have a large forge or metal casting facility. I just keep telling myself "magic fired ceramics over wood or cloth bases" and force myself not to worry.

Well then, I'm glad I'm not alone in that boat, but at least you have something you can tell yourself. Personally, I was going a little crazy over why the wargolem was possible but the mana cannon, which is smaller and simpler, wasn't. But hey 'magic fired ceramics' sounds good to me.

Ash-RH: Eyes peeled and heads on a swivel, Shrikes.

MA: Have I mentioned that I hate fire?

Kale'shido- I would've gone to the Sarghress, like the other exiles, but I fear for my family's safety as much as my friends'.